The heart-wrenching reality of a parent’s worst nightmare took a turn for the worse at Kentucky State University when Jacob Lee Bard, a 48-year-old father from Evansville, Indiana, allegedly opened fire to protect his son. What started as a move-out day meant to escape a cycle of campus violence ended in a cloud of gunsmoke, leaving 19-year-old student De’Jon Darrell Fox Jr. dead and another student fighting for his life in intensive care.
Attorneys from Danks & Danks, representing Bard, say this wasn’t an act of aggression but one of absolute desperation. They describe a campus environment that had spiraled out of control, where Bard’s sons—ages 18 and 19—had been living in fear after a series of burglaries and armed assaults. The legal team insists that the shooting, while tragic, was legally justified because Bard believed his son was about to be killed in front of him.
The tension reached a breaking point on the morning of December 9, after the family met with university deans and campus police to discuss safety concerns. Convinced that the school couldn’t protect their children, the Bards decided to pack up their son’s belongings and leave for good. But as they worked to clear out the room in Whitney M. Young Jr. Hall, they say they were ambushed by a mob of 20 to 30 people, some allegedly masked and armed.
Witnesses and court testimony describe a scene of pure chaos. A Frankfort police detective testified that video footage shows “multiple people attacking multiple people” on the sidewalk just outside the dorm. In the middle of the brawl, Bard’s legal team says his son was slammed into the concrete and beaten by a crowd that far outnumbered the two campus officers present. Bard reportedly tried to pull the attackers off his son, but when he was struck and saw his son losing the fight, he pulled his weapon and fired two shots.
The aftermath has been a whirlwind of legal battles and grieving families. Bard now faces charges of murder and first-degree assault, though a judge recently lowered his bond from $1 million to $100,000 as the case moves toward a grand jury. Meanwhile, the family of De’Jon Fox Jr. is left mourning a young man they say loved school and had a bright future ahead of him.
University officials have struggled to manage the fallout, canceling classes and final exams in the wake of the tragedy. This incident marks the second shooting near the same residence hall in just four months, fueling a heated debate about whether the campus is truly safe for its students. Bard’s lawyers claim the school failed to act on earlier reports of violence, essentially leaving the family to defend themselves.
As the investigation continues, the community remains deeply divided. One side sees a father who did what any parent would do to save his child, while the other sees a senseless act of violence that took a young life. For Jacob Bard, the legal road ahead is long, but his defense remains simple: he wasn’t looking for a fight; he was just trying to bring his son home alive.
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